World Wisdom

Getting the Most from Different Medical Traditions

A Moroccan Berber Pharamcy sells Essential Oils and Herbs. Most of what they sell are grown and “made” there.

Some Aroma-Medicine experts believe indigenous plants are particularly effective in treating people’s indigenous illnesses of that particular region. This is a much more purposeful, and harmonious “take” on evolution than “Survival of the Fittest.”

TREATMENTS WITHOUT BORDERS:

These days, who is doing what, is “up for grabs.” Ten years ago, a Beijing woman told me she preferred Prozac to acupuncture. The pill worked more quickly. During my India sound healing training, a local physician proudly explained, “I don’t do Ayureveda, only proper Western Medicine in our hospital.” As we look to other traditions for new approaches, others are looking at what we do. No one has all the answers. MORE

EMOTIONAL AND PAIN DISORDERS:

When it comes to emotional and pain disorders, diagnostic labels do not necessarily tell us why they happen and what to do about them. MORE

How are Eastern and Western Medicine Different?

Eastern medicines may seem strange, even far-fetched. They did to me. And their treatments can appear labor-intensive, imprecise, and low-tech, the opposite of what we consider “advanced.” In India, I received an Ayurveda massage by two women for two hours. Amber oils spilled out from glass jugs and rained on me. Can this be a therapy? How do we begin to grasp the validity of these approaches and what they accomplish? MORE